FoleyFest 2017
by Angel Weasel-Woman
Summary: A series of drabbles for Foley Fest. Chapter 6: Reboot. Tucker lounged on the couch. His homework was done, his parents were out – it was the perfect time to catch up on a nap and a favorite show. Chapter 7: Foleys. Angela hummed softly, reaching down into the crib.
1. Technology

"Oh, before you head home, you got a package in the mail, honey."

Tucker ignored Danny snickering at him for still being called "honey" in his mid-twenties. He blinked for a moment, trying to remember what he ordered to come in at his parent's house instead of his apartment PO box.

"Oh, sweet, is it here?" Tucker grabbed the box from his mother, grinning wildly at the heavy weight in his arms. He checked the shipping label and cheered. "I finally got it!"

"Got what?" Danny asked. He floated over to peer at his friend who yelped and took a step back.

"Oh no, dude, you don't get to touch this baby until you get your ghost-ness under control."

Danny looked at his hands that crackled with static electricity. "It's just a little leftover from fighting Technus, nothing my suit shouldn't sort out in about an hour."

Angela smiled at the two bickering boys (they would never be anything but boys in her mind), and offered, "If it's too late, you can stay the night here, Tucker. Danny, you too."

"No thanks, Mrs. Foley," Danny said. "I don't need much sleep, not anymore."

"And I gotta get this sweet thing set up at home." Tucker bumped his shoulder against his mother in lieu of a hug and kissed her on the cheek. He looked at Danny with a lopsided grin. "Let's go, Sparky, before you short out the wiring in the house again."

"How many times do I have to say, it was just the _one_ time!"

* * *

Danny made a face at the box within a box Tucker opened. " _Another_ PS4? Dude, you already have, like, five of them!"

"No," Tucker said as he carefully pulled out the sleek, black machine. "I have an original fat, I have a slim, and I have a Japanese model."

"So what's that then? Another basic model?" Danny floated closer, but Tucker shooed his away. Even if the static electricity had stopped crackling loudly, Danny was still prone to zapping things.

"Looks like it." Tucker looked in the vents, assessing the amount of dust. He checked the USB ports and rummaged in the box for the controller and charging cable.

"What do you need another basic for? Did you fill up your other one?"

Tucker shrugged, carefully setting down the PS4 and grabbing all the cords from his TV. "Not yet – close though. Do you know how few games a terabyte holds?"

The flatscreen lit up with the Playstation logo, fading into a Silent Hill theme. Tucker fiddled with the controller, eyes flicking up to the corner of his screen. It was only half charged, but that was fine.

"I bought this one for... This! Right here!"

The letters P.T. flickered innocently on the screen.

"Holy crap!" Danny almost hit the ceiling. "You managed to get a copy of the demo!"

"Yeah, and you don't wanna know what I paid for it." Tucker grinned up at his friend. "See why I didn't want you to touch this thing?"

"Obviously." Danny wished desperately that he still had human hands to hold the controller. "You gonna play it?"

"Not no, but _hell_ no. I live through enough scary crap every day to play this thing."

* * *

Welcome, everyone, to the first drabble for Foley Fest 2017~ I hope you enjoy the next week of Tucker appreciation!


	2. Underappreciated

Tucker watched Danny walking. He was walking away. Walking to Sam.

Danny walked right by him.

Sam's gaze passed right over Tucker. She was looking. Looking at Danny.

Sam was smiling at Danny. Danny was kissing Sam.

Tucker was alone.

 **They don't need you.**

" _No!"_

Tucker grabbed at his hair. His beret had fallen.

" _No this isn't right!"_

 **Why not?**

" _Because they're my friends!"_

 **Are you sure?**

Danny was fighting ghosts. He didn't even break a sweat. The ghost vanished into the Thermos. Danny grabbed Sam and they left.

 **Where do you play into this?**

" _I'm there with them. I know I am!"_

They were at the mall. Danny and Sam were holding hands. They were deciding on what movie to see.

Tucker brought his fist to his mouth. He bit his flesh until it bled.

There was no pain.

 **Without others, there is no pain.**

 **Without others, you are free to be yourself.**

" _I am myself! With Danny and Sam, I know who I am!"_

 **An who are you?**

" _I'm Tucker Foley."_

 **Who is Tucker Foley?**

" _I'm the child of Angela and Maurice Foley. I love my PDA, I'm looking for a girlfriend... I... I..."_

Tucker crouched. He wrapped his arms around his knees. He screamed.

 **Is that all you are?**

" _Who am I?!"_

 **Isn't it better to just give in? Here, you are all you need.**

"You're my friend."

Tucker blinked. Tears fell. A glowing blur stood before him.

"You've been my best friend since first grade. You were the first person I got in trouble with. You're the one who told me being an astronaut would be cool."

Something tall and dark appeared.

"You challenge me. You go toe to toe to me and you don't back down."

The glowing form came closer. "Without you, I'm alone."

The dark figure came closer. "Without you, I'm alone."

 **They don't mean that. How can they be alone when they're together?**

Tucker looked at Danny and at Sam.

He smiled at them.

They smiled back.

" _Because we're friends."_

Tucker reached out for them.

* * *

Tucker gasped for breath, cheek stinging from where Sam had slapped him.

"Damnit, Tucker, don't you dare die on us!"

He groaned, ignoring the wetness that was dripping on his forehead. Sam would kill him if he said anything. "What happened?"

"Is he ok?!" Danny shouted, hands glowing a desperate green. He was cut up and bleeding, a deep fear in his eyes even after the battle.

"That ghost had some kind of crazy shadow – it ate you up and you vanished," Sam told him. Tucker reached up to adjust his glasses, but they weren't there. Probably in whatever weird dimension he was in. "We only just got you back."

Danny settled next to Tucker, resting a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, man."

Tucker smiled.

"I'm glad I'm here, too."

* * *

Guess who spent all day watching Neon Genesis Evangelion~?


	3. Charisma

The first day back at school after the Disasteroid, Danny was a wreck. He was mobbed by the A-Listers, a forced smile making his cheeks burn as they jabbered at him, each trying to be heard over the others.

"I always thought you were cool, man."

"You know I never meant anything I said about you, right?"

"Danny, you've always been the smartest kid in school!"

Dash was particularly insistent, invading the halfa's personal space by throwing an arm around Danny's shoulder like he hadn't just wailed on him three days ago. "You've always been my best bud."

Tucker was quick to shove himself between the two, grinning widely. "Why thanks, Dash. I'll have you know, being the best friend to the youngest mayor in history is an incredible honor. And if you'll just -"

Dash scoffed, pulling away from Tucker with a grimace. "Who said anything about you?"

And then he left, taking the crowd of slightly confused A-Listers with him.

* * *

Paulina cornered Danny before lunch. She was pressed close to him, fluttering her eyelashes and puckering shimmering lips.

"You know, you'd look so much better in the papers with _me_ on your arm instead of that dark chick."

Danny was about to phase through the locker he was trapped against when Tucker fell to one knee, taking Paulina's hand in both of his. He kissed her knuckles sloppily, beaming at her disgusted shriek.

"Oh my lady, you sure know how to make a you man feel wanted. You'll look amazing with me, don't you think? Think of the headlines: Mayor Tucker and his new beau! We'll be a hit at all the ribbon cuttings."

"Get a life, freak!" Paulina snarled. She turned on her heel, whipping Tucker in the face with her hair as she stormed off.

* * *

Danny fell back on Tucker's bed after school, glad for the invisibility that allowed him to escape the press that was constantly hounding him. Tucker collapsed beside him, rubbing his cheeks.

"Hey, Tuck?"

The boy blinked and looked over the rim of his glasses, making some kind of noise. His cheeks ached from constant smiling and he was exhausted from butting into conversations that, three days ago, would have gotten the snot beaten out of him. And today was only Monday.

Danny gave a lopsided smile. "Thanks. For rescuing me today."


	4. Kiss

Tucker sat by himself behind the slide, completely immersed in his Game Boy. The teacher's aid in charge of recess never looked this far into the playground, so the first grader was free to play to his heart's content.

His tongue was sticking out from between his lips and he squinted in concentration. His mom told him he _had_ to wear his glasses all the time now, but he didn't like them. They were big and clunky and made Dash call him a nerd. So he looked at the black and green blob that was supposed to be his character and slammed his thumb on the Start Button, bringing up the menu with a cheer. He was going to be the first kid in school with an actual Mew!

He brought the device up to his nose to find his Pidgeotto with Fly when a loud yelp caught his attention. He snatched his glasses out of his lap and put them on as he peered around the slide.

That weird new kid, Danny, had tripped and was sprawled out across the ground. His official NASA shirt, which he'd proudly shown off during Show and Tell, was covered in dirt and grit. And when he rolled off his stomach, there was a large tear in his jeans. Tucker blanched at the bloody scratch that covered the other boy's knee.

But while Tucker would have been a wailing mess, Danny just looked at his wound and pouted. He seemed far more upset about his shirt being dirty than the scrape. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bandages and, without even a sniffle, he began to carefully cover his knee.

Tucker watched in fascination as each pink, _Sayonara Pussycat_ themed bandage was unwrapped and stuck on in a thick, yet even, cast.

Within moments, Danny had bandaged himself and he stood. He brushed the grit from his jeans and took a single hobbled step toward the monkey bars.

"Wait a minute!" Tucker cried.

Danny looked around, finally noticing his classmate. The boy blushed and reached down to cover his knee, blurting out, "They're my sister's band aids, I don't even like _Sayonara Pussycat_!"

Tucker shook his head. "No, not that."

He stood and shoved his Game Boy into his pocket. Hesitantly, he approached Danny and asked, "Are you ok?"

Danny shrugged. "I'm fine. I fall at home all the time, so I'm used to it. 'S why I have band aids with me."

"Is that it?"

"Whadaya mean?"

Tucker frowned, thinking. "Whenever I get hut, my Mom says you have to kiss it or it won't get better."

Danny tilted his head to the side, nose scrunched in thought. "My mom never did that. She says that an'ibiotics and bandages are all I need."

Tucker pouted. What kind of mom didn't kiss their kids when they got hurt? Well, he couldn't just let this new kid go without that special kind of healing. He leaned down, quick as anything, and kissed the solid patch of pink latex.

"There, now you'll be better for sure!"


	5. Endgame

"Tucker, what are you doing?"

"Writing a paper on _1984_. What's it look like?"

Sam rolled her eyes as she stabbed at her salad. "It looks like it's got Star's name is on it. You're in AP English – you read _1984_ two years ago."

"That's the beauty of it." Tucker flourished his I with a heart like he'd seen on the cheerleader's paper so often before. "I've had all this time to come up with the best essay ever. Once she sees the grade I'm going to get for her, there's no way she can say no to going to prom with me."

Sam groaned. "All that's going to happen is you're going to do her English homework for the rest of the semester."

Tucker "hmm"ed in thought. "Nah, that can't be right. My plan's gonna work out perfectly – just wait and see."


	6. Reboot

Tucker lounged on the couch. His homework was done, his parents were out – it was the perfect time to catch up on a nap and a favorite show.

It was also the perfect time for a ghost to attack.

"I am Technus, ruler of all things electronic! This time my plan of world domination shall come to fruition as I absolutely came straight to your den of all things electronic first, instead of Radio Shack which I didn't know they closed last month! " The room filled with a bright glow as various radios and TV remotes were effected by the ghost's powers.

Tucker grabbed his phone before it could be taken, swiping a quick message that autocorrect was far too used to. _"Technus at house. Come now."_

"Gun, commend line: full delete!"

"Hm?" Technus paused, halting his takeover of Tucker's old iPod as he turned to the still plugged in TV. "What is this?"

"It's a Class M! The Webcreature is stabilizing the tear!"

Technus pointed to the brightly colored CG models on the screen. "Why is the television speaking of 'webcreatures'? Is it one of those newfangled Intelligent TVs?"

Tucked groaned. How did he always get stuck with this particular ghost? "Ok, first of all, it's called a smart TV, and no. It's not. (Mom won't let Dad get one since you keep breaking this one.) And Second of all, it's a TV show called ReBoot."

"ReBoot? So it's a program about shutting down and starting up computers?"

"Not exactly." Tucker sat up a bit straighter and Technus plopped next to him, the combination of cold air and static electricity making Tucker shiver. But the lamps weren't floating anymore, so he was going to take this as a win. "It's about what goes on inside of computers while they're being used and how information travles on the internet. Like that guy right there is Captain Capacitor. He used to be a pirate and go into other computers to steal data, but he's a good guy now."

"And that one? Why is she flickering? Is her power source unplugged?"

"That AndrAIa. She was Game Sprite, an NPC in a video game, but she managed to get downloaded to the computer so she wouldn't disappear with it. She's flickering because her code's all messed up right now..."

* * *

Danny few into Tucker's house, hands pulsing with ectoenergy. His eyes flew around the trashed living room, and he cried out, "Tucker! Are you ok?! I – uh..."

Tucker was flopped against the arm of the couch, feet kicked up into Technus' lap as he laughed.

"No way is Dot better than Hex. Ok? You should know that – oh, hey Danny." Tucker looked up with a smile.

Technus spotted the other boy floating and waved him down. "Ghost child! Come discuss with us the merits of Dot Matrix over Hexadecimal!"

"I, um, what are you...?" Danny shook his head. "Tucker, are you all right? I got a text about this, I guess?"

Tucker blinked. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and sighed. "Man, I forgot to delete the message. I must have butt texted you, sorry. Hey, after this, you wanna watch Beast Wars with us?"


	7. Foleys

Angela hummed softly, reaching down into the crib. Her little boy had finally fallen asleep after hours of humming and rocking. The little mobile spun lazily, light blues and greens dancing and dangling just over her shoulder as she leaned in close, kissing Tucker on the top of his fuzzy head.

A soft touch at the small of her back made her lean back into her husband's arms as he tried to stifle a yawn. As tired as he was, it was hard to fall asleep all by himself anymore.

"How's the little monster?" Maruice asked, blinking wearily. Angela tapped him lightly on the chest with a stern look.

"About to wake up for another round of screaming if you keep talking."

Maruice gave her an apologetic smile and she melted inside. All her life she'd wanted this little slice of normalcy.

A husband. A baby. A life ahead full of wonder and surprises.


End file.
